Warm temperatures and dry winds continue to fuel a wildland fire that has already burned around 300 hectares of land in northern Strathcona County.

Strathcona County Emergency Services (SCES) responders were working overtime, along with neighbouring departments in Fort Saskatchewan and Lamont County, to battle a blaze in the area of Township Road 564 and Range Road 221 on Monday.

Although the fire is currently being contained, SCES deputy fire chief Bob Scott said it is not yet under control, noting that the wind is creating difficulties for crews.

“Fire activity is quite intense right now and spreading rapidly with the wind,” he explained.

“(It) continues to shift on us in different directions, so it’s presenting a challenge for firefighters in terms of keeping control and trying to guess where the fire is going to move.”

Despite that, Scott said he remains optimistic that response crews will be able to keep the flames in check over the coming days.

“I think we’ll be able to stay on this fire until Friday at least — or until the weather changes and we can re-evaluate the situation,” he added.

“We’ll be doing rotating crews, our equipment is working well, and we have a lot of support from other Strathcona County departments.”

All told, current on-scene resources include 15 firefighters, four brush trucks, three dozers, five water tenders, and a helicopter doing water drops.

While there have been no mandatory evacuations in the area, three nearby farmhouses were evacuated voluntarily, including one that was threatened on Sunday, according to Scott.

“Right now, there is no threat to homes, but we did have a farmhouse and out buildings that were threatened late in the afternoon yesterday,” he said on Monday.

“The fires burned around those and didn’t take any buildings down as a result of the actions of the firefighters.”

With no definitive end in sight, Scott said the county will remain under a fire advisory going forward.

“We still allow burning in recreational fire pits for cooking or heating only, but that’s only if the fire is attended and it’s small,” he explained.

“Other outdoor fires are not allowed and, as you can see, they can jump out of control very quickly and threaten a person’s safety, their own property and the property of others.”

SCES first responded to the northern Strathcona County fire at approximately noon on May 12.